Apparatus for filling ball point pens and cartridges therefor



y 1957 I H. w. WALDEN 2,799,302

APPARATUS FOR FILLING BALL POINT PENS AND CARTRIDGES THEREFOR Filq Jan. 19, 1956 FIG.7. F|G.6.

INVENTOR 'Henry W.Walden BY 1 f0 EY United States Patent APPARATUS FOR FILLING BALL POINT PENS AND CARTRIDGES THEREFOR This invention relates to devices for filling or "refilling ball point pens and or the ink-holding cartridges used in such pens. Apparatus of the general character of :that herein referred to is disclosed in my co -pending applications Serial NO. 498,911, filed April 4, 1955 and 519,071 filed June 30, 1955 and the present invention relatesto improvements in such apparatus. V i

It is an object of the invention to provide means by which the filling of cartridges of this character will.be facilitated and 'more particularly to provide means for sealing the filling nozzle when the same is not in operation; to provide means for supporting the cartridges while the same are being filled; to provide gauge means'for indicating that a cartridge has been filled and is ready for removal from the filling nozzle; to provide means for insuring the filling of the reservoir or inkholding tank with the proper ink, and to provide means for distorting or crimping the body of -a cartridge when such distortion or crimp is required therein for pens of a certain construction.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly point out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a filling mechanism, with parts in section, constructed in accordance with the invention; l

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; g V

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially on'the line 33 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; v

Fig. 4 is a view of a portion of an ink cartridge showing the distortion or crimping formed therein;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the Fig. 7 is a view showing the manner of replenishing i the fiilling mechanism with ink.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, 1 indicates an upright or vertical standard portion of the apparatus, and 2 indicates the base H plate, the latter being usually intended for support or rest upon any suitable fiat surface. Secured to the upright 1 is the ink-containing tank or reservoir 3, holding ink 4 of the type conventionally used in ball point pens, and which is of a relatively thick, viscous nature. To

insure that. the user or operator of the machine will not I thread-on cap 6, which threadably engages the external shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. at that time, the cradle 21 is disposed in a substantially threads on nipple 7. When it is desired to fill the ink reservoir 3, the'cap 6 is removed, and a collapsible tube 30, containing ink of the required constituency and viscosity-has its threaded nipple 31 threadably engaged with the internal threads 8 on the nipple 7 and when the tube is compressed, its contents will be ejected into the ink reservoir 3, thus insuring filling of the same with the correct ink.

Leading from the bottom of the ink reservoir 3 is a cylinder 10 in which a piston is operative to force ink through the cylinder and out through the long, slender filling nozzle 13 that is detachably connected to the lower .end of the cylinder 10 by means of a suitable, preferably quickly-detachable, coupling 12. The cylinder may be provided with an off-set drain cock as indicated at 11 to enable it to be drained or cleaned out.

The mechanism for vertically reciprocating the piston that is operative within the cylinder-10 is not disclosed in detail since the same is fully shown in my co-pending applications heretofore mentioned. It is sufficient to state that by manipulation .of the hand wheel 9, project- 'ing from the side of the ink reservoir 3, the piston will be moved by such mechanism and caused to discharge in'k from the endof the slender nozzle 13 when the same is positioned within the ink cartridge.

Shown at 14 is a combinationnozzle-sealing device and cartridge-support, the samebeing shown in the. form of an arm or plate pivotally attached'by a hinge 15 to a base plate 16, attached by screws or rivets 17 to theupper face of the base 2. Nearits free end, the plate 14 is provided on one of its faces with a nozzle-sealer, which may be in the form of a plug 18 of rubber or other suitable soft material, constituting a cap that is recessed to fit against the free end of the nozzle 13 to thereby seal or close that end of the same and prevent dripping. of ink therefrom. This sealing effect for the nozzleis secured when the plate 14 is in an upright or vertical position substantially as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, the plate 14 being normally maintained in such erect position by means of the coil spring 22 which has one end attached to a loop 24 at the end of the platel4, and its other end attached to a similar loop 23, formed on the end of the cartridgerest 19.

The cartridge rest 19 is secured to the plate 14 by rivets or screws 20, one of which is shown in Fig. 1, and said rest is formed with an angularly-extended channelvshaped cradle 21, which acts to support the cartridge when it is placed over the nozzle 13 and is being filled by ink forced therefrom. The cradle 21 acts as asupport for. the cartridge, as above described, only when the ,plate 14 is lowered ,or folded down to the position It will be noted that horizontal position below. the nozzle 13 and will there fore act to support the cartridge placed around the nozzle for the filling operation. In its lowered position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the plate 14 is engaged by a. spring clip 28 or other suitable retaining element secured to the base member 2. bythe rivets or screws 29 and which said clip holds the plate 14 down-against thetension'of the biasing spring 22. After the cartridge is filled, the manual release of the plate 14 from the clip 28 will'cause the plate 14 to move to vertical position andthe sealer or closure cap 18 to. move into contact with the end of the nozzle 13 to seal the same.

j-Toaidin initially inserting the nozzle 13 within the cartridge that is to be filled, a guide plate 25 is employed. This plate is secured to the upper surface of the base member 2 by means of the rivetsror screws 26 and is provided in its upper edge with a notch 27 If the cartridge to be filled is rested with one endin the notch and the-other open or back end of the cartridge is placed on the cradle 21 a sliding movement of the cartridge toward the open end of the nozzle will smoothly fit the cartridge over the nozzle and in readiness to be filled. Subsequently, whenthe cartridge tends to move from oiI the nozzle during the filling operation, the guide plate 25 will serve as a stop by impingement of the ball point end of the cartridge against it, thus indicating to the operator that the cartridge is filled and can be then removed from off the nozzle.

While many ball point pen cartridges are uniformly cylindrical and undistorted from the rear open end to the ball point tip, a certain type is provided at various positions with a distortion or crimping such as is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The purpose of such crimping is to provide a shoulder constituting a stop or rest for a coil spring that surrounds the cartridge and is used in pens of the point-retracting type. It is therefore desirable that the filling apparatus be provided with means for forming cartridges with these distortions or crimps so that the operator can supply a filled cartridge of this type when called upon to do so, by producing the crimp in a conventional uncrimped cartridge.

Mounted on the base 2 at a suitable locality thereon and out of the way of the filling nozzle is a crimping device, which may consist of a fixed anvil member 36, secured to the base 2, and a pivoted lever 39. Co-operating dies 37 and 38 provided respectively on the anvil member 36 and lever 39 cause a cartridge to be crimped or distorted substantially .as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. It will therein be noted that the cartridge 32 is flattened as indicated at 33 and 34 which leaves a central tubular portion 35 between the flattened parts to thus permit the unrestricted flow of ink. The die elements 37 and 38 are shaped to flatten the cartridge in the manner shown, thus providing an enlargement or shoulder along the length of the cartridge at the required location. A suitable gauge may be placed on the base member 2 adjacent to the anvil 6 by means of which the exact location of the distortion or crimping appearing on a cartridge can be duplicated on another cartridge.

From the foregoing, the operation of the disclosed apparatus will be readily understood. The tank or ink reservoir is filled by unthreading the closure cap 6, attaching an ink-filled collapsible tube 30 to the nipple 7 and squeezing the contents of the tube into the ink .reservoir. To fill a cartridge, the plate 14 is swung down to the position shown in dotted lines to cause it to be engaged by the spring clip 28 and so held that the cradle 21 extends .under the nozzle 13, the end of which-was uncapped by the plug 18 when plate 14 was lowered. The cartridge to be filled .is supported in notch 27 and on the rear portion of cradle 21 and is thus aligned with the nozzle 13 so that when the cartridge is moved longitudinally it will slide along over the nozzle until the end of the nozzle contacts the ball-point end inside of the cartridge. The hand-wheel '9 is then rotated and the piston in cylinder 10 is caused to descend, whereupon it will force the ink down through the cylinder and through the nozzle 13 to be expelled thereby into the cartridge. As the cartridge becomes filled with the ink, it moves away from the nozzle and when its ball-point end reaches and contacts with the plate 25, this will indicate to the operator that the cartridge is filled and he can then remove the same for placement within the pen holder. As soon as the filled cartridge is removed, plate 14 is released from the clip 28, whereupon the plate will pivot to vertical position under the pull of spring 22 and the closure cap 18 will contact with and seal the end of the nozzle 13 and prevent dripping of ink therefrom. In cases where the cartridge requires an enlargement or distortion as shown inFigs. 4 and the same can be quickly formed by the means shown in Fig. 6 conveniently situated in close proximity to the filling mechanism.

While I have herein stated that the article being filled is a cartridge for insertion within a ball point pen, it

will be apparent that without material modification the mechanism disclosed can be readily employed for filling pens which receive the ink directly into their barrels without the use of a cartridge.

Having described an embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for filling ball point pens, a filling nozzle adapted to extend within a pen cartridge during the filling operation, capping means for the end of the nozzle to close said end, a movable element by which the capping means is carried, a cartridge support carried by said element and adapted to extend beneath a cartridge and the nozzle to support the same during the filling operation, said support being operative in supporting position only when the nozzle in uncapped.

2. 'In an apparatus for filling ball point pens, a filling nozzle, a pivoted member carrying a support for positioning below the nozzle and below a pen cartridge during the filling operation, said pivoted member carrying a nozzle closure that is moved into nozzle-closing position when the support is moved to non-supporting position.

3. In an apparatus for filling ball-point pen cartridges, a base member, a pivoted arm thereon, means for normally holding said arm in an erect position, a cartridge support on the arm, a filling nozzle located in a position to hold a cartridge for rest on the support while the arm is in a lowered position, a nozzle closure carried by the arm and effective to'close the nozzle when the arm is in an erect position and while the support is in a non-supporting position, and means for holding the arm in a lowered position in opposition to the means tending to 'hold it erectly.

4. In an apparatus for filling ball point pens, a filling nozzle, a movable support for holding a pen cartridge on the nozzle during filling operation, including a closure member for the nozzle, said closure member being carried by the support and being automatically moved into nozzle-closing position upon movement of the support to non-supporting position.

5. In an apparatus for filling ball point pens, a filling nozzle, a movable element provided with a cartridge support and a closure for the nozzle, and means for maintaining the element in either of two positions, wherein the closure is operative to close the nozzle when the element is disposed in one of said positions, and the cartridge support is located in its supporting position when the element is disposed in its second position.

6. In an apparatus for filling ball point pens, a long, slender, filling nozzle, a pivoted plate mounted adjacent to the nozzle and provided with a channel-shaped arm for location below the nozzle .to support an ink cartridge thereon when the plate is in a lowered position, releasable means engaging the plate to thereby hold it in such lowered position, a closure cap for the nozzle carried by the plate and operative to close the end of the nozzle when the plate is in an erect position, and spring means for holding the plate in such erect position.

7. In a device for filling ball point pens, a horizontally-disposed filling nozzle, a pivoted support disposed below the nozzle and supporting a pen cartridge while the cartridge is fitted around the nozzle, means for holding said support in non-supporting position, a closure cap carried by the support and adapted to contact with and close the end of the nozzle while the support is in such non-supporting position, and means for holding the support in supporting position while the closure cap isheld spaced from the end of the nozzle.

8.111 a device for .filling ball point pens, a filling nozzle, a pivoted member, a base to which the pivoted member is hingedly attached, a cartridge support carried by the pivoted member and disposed in cartridge- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Stevens et a1. Dec. 17, 1889 Pfafi May 7, 1907 Pilkington Sept. 14, 1920 Stevens Aug. 10, 1926 Robbins Oct. 29, 1940 Gruetjen May 31, 1949 Johnson June 18, 1955 

